GMAT Reading Comprehension

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Source: Princeton

Level: 3

The 1920's marked a new independence in political party affiliation amongst Black Americans-they were ready to move in a new political direction. The direction was not, however, to the extreme left, despite the wooing of the socialists and the communists.

Because their program revolved around the working person, socialists viewed the problems of society as mainly economic rather than racial; they saw the Black person primarily as a worker and only incidentally as a "Negro". No matter how eloquent, their program was generally viewed by Black Americans as remote from their needs.

In contrast to the socialists, the communists sought to more directly address the needs of the Black community. In 1925, the Communist Party organized the American Negro Labor Congress which was designed to bring all Black trade unionists together in order to strengthen the party. They also organized the International Labor Defense, a legal arm that was designed to defend communists in the courts, but that concerned itself particularly with cases involving Black people regardless of their political affiliations. Another part of the communist program was designed to have Black Americans run for high office on the party ticket in state and national elections. However, even with such strenuous efforts, the communists made few Black converts.

Question List: 1 2 3 4 5 6

According to the author, Black Americans were not drawn to socialism because

  • A the communists were more attentive to the needs of the Black community
  • B they were put off by the extreme left associations of socialism
  • C socialism saw Blacks largely as an economic group, not a racial group
  • D the Negro Labor Congress advertised against socialism
  • E socialists did not make enough effort to make Blacks feel part of the party mainstream

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